This book brings together a number of recent case studies from the broad field of sustainable consumption. As they evaluate the promises, myths, and critiques of sustainable consumption, these essays can also be categorized into a range of different societal perspectives, from the individual to collectivities. The first chapters explore the personal consumer, discussing how individual consumptive choices relate to lifestyle and culture, and how choices are reflected in the carbon footprints of consumers and vehicles like the automobile. The ongoing phenomenon of outsourcing production and thus the emissions of cities—in more affluent countries—and the resulting “low-carbon illusion” of cities is analysed, as is the inefficiency of density policies to mitigate these emissions. The volume then moves on to consider community-based resource sharing, environmental entrepreneurs, spillover effects and learning possibilities. Also investigated are intentional communities born of alternative economic thought, suburban neighborhoods, and questions of whether cultural activities can be considered within the field of sustainability in lower-income city outskirts. The third part of the book analyzes different social movements in sustainability, as well as the limits of policy, government regulation, and the potential for mainstreaming sustainable consumption. In each chapter, scholars explore sustainability, from the individual to the collective, in order to improve understandings of consumer lifestyles and provide critiques of the processes of societal transition toward more sustainable human-environmental life.

This open access book is based on work from the COST Action RESTORE - REthinking Sustainability TOwards a Regenerative Economy, and highlights how sustainability in buildings, facilities and urban governance is crucial for a future that is socially just, ecologically restorative, and economically viable, for Europe and the whole planet. In light of the search for fair solutions to the climate crisis, the authors outline the urgency for the built environment sector to implement adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as a just transition. As shown in the chapters, this can be done by applying a broader framework that enriches places, people, ecology, culture, and climate, at the core of the design task - with a particular emphasis on the benefits towards health and resilient business practices. This book is one step on the way to a paradigm shift towards restorative sustainability for new and existing buildings. The authors want to promote forward thinking and multidisciplinary knowledge, leading to solutions that celebrate the richness of design creativity. In this vision, cities of the future will enhance users' experience, health and wellbeing inside and outside of buildings, while reconciling anthropic ecosystems and nature. A valuable resource for scientists and students in environmental sciences and architecture, as well as policy makers, practitioners and investors in urban and regional development.

​“A novel, insightful and provocative foray into the abilities, capacities and limits of corporate power on the one hand and public power and capacities on the other hand. Eckert offers new and refine insights on core issues in the theories of public and private interest regulation.”—David Levi Faur, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel “This impressive book breaks important ground in the regulatory governance literature by bringing in a fresh corporate perspective. Based on a set of fascinating case studies of European regulation, Eckert compellingly unpacks key facets of corporate power. A must-read for regulation scholars who often neglect the targets of regulation!”—Burkard Eberlein, York University, Canada “This book offers systematic and empirically fascinating insights into the regulatory power of corporations which unfolds outside the traditional political arenas. Its policy effects have important implications for the target groups of regulation, the general public, and the democratic political process as such. The conceptualization and use of rich empirical sources make for a compelling read.”—Adrienne Héritier, European University Institute, Italy This book takes a fresh look at corporate power in the regulatory process. It examines how corporations seek to prevent, shape, make or revoke regulation. The central argument is that in doing so, corporations utilise distinct power resources as experts, innovators and operators. By re-emphasising the proactive role of business, the book complements our acquired knowledge of policymakers’ capacity to put pressure on, or delegate power to private actors. Empirically, the book covers European consumer and environmental policies, and conducts case studies on the chemical, paper, home appliance, ICT and electricity industries. A separate chapter is dedicated to the assumption that Brexit will lead to an unprecedented result of EU regulation being lifted, and how this could put corporate power in regulation at risk. This book provides a new perspective on the policy implications of corporate power to scholars, students and practitioners alike.

This book originates from the work of contributors to initiatives and global networks promoting and pursuing lines of enquiry that recognise and probe relationships between sustainable consumption, design and production, and the implications of those relationships for new economic activity and the way we live and govern ourselves. It features contributions from social scientists (e.g. from the fields of innovation studies, geography, environmental policy and sociology) and practitioners, serving to generate a short-list of research perspectives and topics around which future research and actions in practice will be orientated. The book consists of ten chapters divided into three parts, focusing on: perspectives/methodological insights; empirical work integrating consumption and production; and site-specific practitioner-oriented case studies. The conclusion examines the key aspects of policy, research and practical implications.

Sustainable consumption is a central research topic in academic discourses of sustainable development and global environmental change. Informed by a number of disciplinary perspectives, this book is structured around four key themes in sustainable consumption research: Living, Moving, Dwelling and Futures. The collection successfully balances theoretical insights with grounded case studies, on mobility, heating, washing and eating practices, and concludes by exploring future sustainable consumption research pathways and policy recommendations. Theoretical frameworks are advanced throughout the volume, especially in relation to social practice theory, theories of behavioural change and innovative visioning and backcasting methodologies. This groundbreaking book draws on some conceptual approaches which move beyond the responsibility of the individual consumer to take into account wider social, economic and political structures and processes in order to highlight both possibilities for and challenges to sustainable consumption. This approach enables students and policy-makers alike to easily recognise the applicability of social science theories.

And each strategy proposed addresses one or more of these problem areas.

The EU-funded project Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges (SCORE ) consists of around 200 experts in the field of sustainable innovation and sustainable consumption. The SCORE philosophy is that innovation in SCP policy can be achieved only if experts that understand business development, (sustainable) solution design, consumer behaviour and system innovation policy work together in shaping it. Sustainable technology design can be effective only if business can profitably make the products and consumers are attracted to them. To understand how this might effectively happen, the expertise of systems thinkers must be added to the mix.

This Handbook compiles the state of the art of current research on sustainable consumption from the world�s leading experts in the field. The implementation of sustainable consumption presents one of the greatest challenges and opportunities we are fac

If global society is to address the many environmental and other sustainability challenges that confront us in the twenty-first century, such as climate change and water resources, it will be necessary to make significant changes in our patterns of consumption, production, and distribution. There is a growing realization that while changes in production and distribution are formidable, the proposed solutions may not succeed unless it is possible to persuade individuals and households to change their patterns of consumption to make them more sustainable. However there are significant differences in how key disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, and history conceptualise consumption, empirically test their theoretical predictions, and use these to inform policy-makers across the private, public and third sectors on how to make consumption more sustainable. This book contains chapters from world-leading experts in these different disciplines that seek to explain the perspectives on sustainable consumption of their disciplines, suggest how these might be further enriched by taking on board some of the findings from other disciplines, and consider what this implies for new policies to address the key sustainability challenges outlined above. The book is dedicated to Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, one of the world's leading economists who has worked across a range of topics, including environmental and resource economics and development economics, and throughout his career has sought to incorporate into his economic thinking ideas from a range of other disciplines.

This book presents high-quality cases on the actions carried out by companies to minimize the social and environmental impact of the products (goods and services) they launch on the market. It also highlights the education campaigns that promote behavioral changes and new sustainable lifestyles that have been developed by all kinds of organizations (Public Administration, NGOs, and businesses), mainly from Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Marketing, and Behavioral Economics perspectives. International cases help students learn how management and corporate strategy, and the appropriate marketing strategies, can be designed with an aim to achieve responsible consumption and create sustainable lifestyles. .